Canaanite Temple Unearthed in Palestine; Believed to Date from Second Millenium B.c.

June 16, 1947

Jerusalem (Jun. 15)

A Canaanite temple dating from the first half of the second millenium B.C., approximately contemporary with the age of the Hebrew patriarchs, has been unearthed at Nahariya, at a short distance from the sea shore.

The temple, which consists of one large hall and one small adjacent room, is built of sandstone blocks. The walls of the temple have been preserved to the height of about seven feet. Fragments of incense burners, figurines of doves, which were considered bird-attributes of the goddess Ashtaroth, and more than a hundred miniature ?otive vaces and bowls, and a large bronze axe were unearthed by the excavators.